ST. GEORGE — A man was arrested early Thursday morning after allegedly shooting a man outside an apartment complex.
Shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, officers were dispatched to a report of a fight at a residence on West 360 North near Shadow Mountain Park in St. George. While en route, officers were advised that several gunshots were reportedly heard during the ongoing altercation, and the first officer arrived to find three men fighting, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.
When this officer jumped in to stop the fight, one of the men, later identified as 48-year-old Shiloh Cody, was biting a second individual and “would not let go,” the officer noted. The officer deployed a Taser, which ended the fight.
Police say as they attempted to load Cody into a patrol unit, he began thrashing around and trying to head-butt officers and then, once in the vehicle, bit one of the officers in the arm. Cody was then transported to the St. George Regional Hospital for evaluation.
After all the men were detained, police were alerted of a fourth individual who had been reportedly shot in the shoulder, which is when detectives were called to the scene to conduct an investigation.
Through the course of several interviews, detectives established a timeline of the events as they unfolded. According to the report, the altercation began when one of the men heard someone yelling and causing a disturbance outside of his apartment.
Authorities say the man grabbed a firearm and went outside to see what was going on, which is when he encountered Cody, who reportedly was the one who initiated the disturbance. When the tenant approached the suspect about the noise, Cody advanced toward the man “in an aggressive manner,” and a physical altercation ensued.
As the men were fighting, the gun was in the tenant’s right hand as he fell to the ground, which is when Cody reportedly grabbed the man’s throat, bit his middle finger and slammed the man’s head against the ground several times.
At some point, Cody got a hold of the gun and a witness in the area heard the sound of gunshots, the report states.
As the altercation continued, a third man jumped in to help the tenant, who was able to grab the firearm and returned to his apartment to secure the weapon, which is when he realized he had been shot in the shoulder.
Meanwhile, the tussle outside continued between the man who had jumped in to help the tenant and Cody. During this time, Cody reportedly bit the man’s arm, which resulted in a “serious injury.” Shortly after, the first police officer arrived and deployed his Taser to force Cody to disengage.
Cody was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility facing numerous charges, including two second-degree felony counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily harm for reportedly shooting one man and causing a significant bite injury to the second.
The defendant also faces one count of interfering with arresting officer and three counts of assault on a police officer, each a misdemeanor, for biting and fighting with police during the initial altercation.
Formal charges have yet to be filed against the suspect who remains in custody without bail.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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